Systems and methods for facilitating user selection events over a network

ABSTRACT

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, systems and methods for facilitating transactions over a network utilize a first component adapted to communicate with a user via a client device over the network and a merchant via a merchant device over the network and a second component adapted to monitor user navigation events over the network, generate a user selection group based on user selections, track user selections, and display user selections to the user via a selection window provided on the client device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/413,402, filed Mar. 27, 2009, the entirety of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention generally relates to network transactions and,more particularly, to facilitating user selection events over a network.

2. Related Art

In electronic commerce, a user typically shops merchant sites, makespurchases, and pays for products through electronic communications withonline service providers over communication networks, such as theInternet. During the course of searching and shopping for products, theuser typically places selected products in a virtual shopping cart.However, to view the virtual shopping cart, the user is often redirectedfrom a current webpage to another webpage for viewing the contents ofthe virtual shopping cart. Unfortunately, this is often time-consumingand inconvenient for the user. Accordingly, there exists a need tosimplify the process of shopping over a network.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure,systems and methods presented herein facilitate network transactionsincluding user selection events over a network. In one embodiment, asystem includes a first component adapted to communicate with a user viaa client device over the network and a merchant via a merchant deviceover the network and a second component adapted to monitor usernavigation events over the network, generate a user selection groupbased on user selections, track user selections, and display userselections to the user via a selection window provided on the clientdevice.

In various implementations, the second component of the system may beadapted to receive a user login request from the user over the networkvia the client device and process the user login request by verifyingthe identity of the user and locating a user account related to theuser. The second component may be adapted to update user selections inthe selection window provided on the client device and store userselections in the selection window provided on the client device. Thesystem may comprise a network server having the second component adaptedto communicate with the client device and the merchant device over thenetwork, and the merchant device may comprise a network server adaptedto communicate with the client device and the second component of thesystem over the network.

In various implementations, the client device may include a userinterface application adapted to allow the user to access the merchantdevice via the network and search items for purchase consideration. Theclient device may also include a display component adapted to displayuser selections to the user via the selection window for purchaseconsideration.

In various aspects, the user navigation events may include usernavigation and/or shopping events related to searching for items topurchase from a website provided by the merchant over the network viathe merchant device. The user selection group may include a collectionof one or more items moved to the selection window of the client devicefrom the merchant website. The user selections may include one or moreitems selected for purchase by the user, and the items may include oneor more products and services provided by the merchant for purchase overthe network via the merchant device.

In one embodiment, a method for facilitating transactions including userselection events over a network may include communicating with a uservia a client device over the network and a merchant via a merchantdevice over the network, monitoring user navigation events over thenetwork, generating a user selection group based on user selections,tracking user selections, and displaying user selections to the user viaa selection window provided on the client device. In one implementation,the method may include receiving a login request from the user over thenetwork via the client device and processing the user login request byverifying the identity of the user and locating a user account relatedto the user. In another implementation, the method may include updatinguser selections in the selection window provided on the client deviceand storing user selections in the selection window provided on theclient device.

These and other features and advantages of the present disclosure willbe more readily apparent from the detailed description of theembodiments set forth below taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system adapted to facilitate userselection events over a network, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of selecting an item icon from a merchantitem list and moving the selected item icon to a selection window, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of a method for facilitating a client-sideselection event over a network, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows one embodiment of a method for facilitating server-sideprocessing of a user selection event over a network, in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computer system suitable for implementingone or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are bestunderstood by referring to the detailed description that follows. Itshould be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identifylike elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, whereinshowings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of thepresent disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to systems andmethods for facilitating user selection events over a network, such asthe Internet. In one aspect, user selection events occur during onlinenavigation and shopping. For example, during online shopping, usersaccess a merchant site, search for desirable items, and monitor merchantitems with an intent to purchase the items at another time. Some onlineservice providers offer users a large selection of items for purchaseconsideration. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide aneffective way to quickly set aside items for purchase considerationwhile continuing online navigation and shopping. Embodiments of thepresent disclosure provide a readily accessible selection window in acomputer desktop environment that allows the user to virtually carry oneor more selected items during navigation and shopping. The selectionwindow allows the user to collect, organize, display, and monitorselected items for purchase consideration. These and other aspects aredescribed in greater detail herein.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a block diagram of a system 100 adaptedto facilitate user selection events over a network 160. As shown in FIG.1, the system 100 includes at least one client device 120 (e.g., networkcomputing device), one or more merchant devices 140 (e.g., networkserver devices), and at least one service provider device 180 (e.g.,network server device) in communication over the network 160.

The network 160, in one embodiment, may be implemented as a singlenetwork or a combination of multiple networks. For example, in variousembodiments, the network 160 may include the Internet and/or one or moreintranets, landline networks, wireless networks, and/or otherappropriate types of communication networks. In another example, thenetwork 160 may comprise a wireless telecommunications network (e.g.,cellular phone network) adapted to communicate with other communicationnetworks, such as the Internet. As such, in various embodiments, theclient device 120, merchant servers 140, and service provider 180 may beassociated with a particular link (e.g., a link, such as a URL (UniformResource Locator) to an IP (Internet Protocol) address).

The client device 120, in various embodiments, may be implemented usingany appropriate combination of hardware and/or software configured forwired and/or wireless communication over the network 160. In oneexample, the client device 120 may be implemented as a personal computer(i.e., PC) in communication with the network 160, such as the Internet.In various other examples, the client device 120 may be implemented as awireless telephone (e.g., cellular phone), a personal digital assistant(PDA), a notebook computer, and/or various other generally known typesof wired and/or wireless computing devices. It should be appreciatedthat the client device 120 may be referred to as a user device or acustomer device without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

The client device 120, in one embodiment, includes a user interfaceapplication 122, which may be utilized by the user 102 to conductfinancial transactions (e.g., shopping, purchasing, bidding, etc.) withthe service provider server 180 over the network 160. For example, theuser interface application 122 may be implemented as an item selectionapplication to track, manage, and store information related to thepurchase of items, products, and/or services over the network 160. Inone aspect, purchase expenses may be directly and/or automaticallydebited from an account related to the user 102 via the user interfaceapplication 122, in a manner as described herein.

In one implementation, the user interface application 122 comprises asoftware program, such as a graphical user interface (GUI), executableby a processor that is configured to interface and communicate with theservice provider server 180 via the network 160. In anotherimplementation, the user interface application 122 comprises a browsermodule that provides a network interface to browse information availableover the network 160. For example, the user interface application 122may be implemented, in part, as a web browser to view informationavailable over the network 160. In another example, the user 102 is ableto access merchant websites via the one or more merchant servers 140 toview and select items, products, and/or services for purchase, and theuser 102 is able to purchase items, products, and/or services from theone or more merchant servers 140 via the service provider server 180.Accordingly, the user 102 may conduct financial transactions (e.g.,purchase and provide payment for items, products, and/or services) fromthe one or more merchant servers 140 via the service provider server180.

The client device 120, in various embodiments, may include otherapplications 128 as may be desired in one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure to provide additional features available to the user102. In one example, such other applications 128 may include securityapplications for implementing client-side security features,programmatic client applications for interfacing with appropriateapplication programming interfaces (APIs) over the network 160, and/orvarious other types of generally known programs and/or softwareapplications. In still other examples, the other applications 128 mayinterface with the user interface application 122 for improvedefficiency and convenience. For example, files, data, and/or informationmay be imported from various types of accounting software (e.g., aspreadsheet application) directly into the user interface application122 for improved tracking of purchases and expenses for purchases viathe network 160.

The client device 120, in one embodiment, may include at least one useridentifier 130, which may be implemented, for example, as operatingsystem registry entries, cookies associated with the user interfaceapplication 122, identifiers associated with hardware of the clientdevice 120, or various other appropriate identifiers. The useridentifier 130 may include one or more attributes related to the user102, such as personal information related to the user 102 (e.g., one ormore user names, passwords, photograph images, biometric ids, addresses,phone numbers, etc.) and banking information (e.g., one or more bankinginstitutions, credit card issuers, user account numbers, security dataand information, etc.). In various implementations, the user identifier130 may be passed with a user login request to the service providerserver 180 via the network 160, and the user identifier 130 may be usedby the service provider server 180 to associate the user 102 with aparticular user account maintained by the service provider server 180,in a manner as described herein.

The one or more merchant servers 140, in various embodiments, may bemaintained by one or more business entities (e.g., merchant sites,resource information sites, utility sites, real estate management sites,social networking sites, etc.) offering various items, products, and/orservices for purchase and payment, which may need registration of theuser identity information as part of offering the items, products,and/or services to the user 102 over the network 160. As such, each ofthe one or more merchant servers 140 may include a merchant database 142for identifying available items, products, and/or services, which may bemade available to the client device 120 for viewing and purchase by theuser 102.

Each of the merchant servers 140, in one embodiment, may include amarketplace application 144, which may be configured to provideinformation over the network 160 to the user interface application 122of the client device 120. For example, the user 102 may interact withthe marketplace application 144 through the user interface application122 over the network 160 to search and view various items, products,and/or services available for purchase in the merchant database 142.

Each of the merchant servers 140, in one embodiment, may include acheckout application 146, which may be configured to facilitate onlinefinancial transactions (e.g., purchase transactions) by the user 102 ofitems, products, and/or services identified by the marketplaceapplication 144. As such, in one aspect, the checkout application 146may be configured to accept payment information from the user 102 overthe network 160.

Each of the merchant servers 140, in one embodiment, may include atleast one merchant identifier 148, which may be included as part of theone or more items, products, and/or services made available for purchaseso that, e.g., particular items, products, and/or services areassociated with particular merchants In one implementation, the merchantidentifier 148 may include one or more attributes and/or parametersrelated to the merchant, such as business and banking information. Themerchant identifier 148 may be passed to the service provider server 180when the user 102 selects an item, product, and/or service for hold,monitor, and/or purchase. The merchant identifier 148 may be used by theservice provider server 180 to associate particular items, products,and/or services selected, monitored, and/or purchased with a particularmerchant account maintained by the service provider server 180. Asdescribed in greater detail herein, the user 102 may conduct financialtransactions (e.g., selection, monitoring, purchasing, and/or providingpayment for items, products, and/or services) with each merchant server140 via the service provider server 180 over the network 160.

In various embodiments, each of the one or more business entities havinga related merchant server 140 may need to establish at least onemerchant account with the service provider server 180. When establishinga merchant account, each of the one or more business entities may needto provide business information, such as owner name, owner address,social security number, date of birth, phone number, email address,etc., and financial information, such as banking information, merchantaccount information, credit card information, payment processinginformation, etc.

The service provider server 180, in one embodiment, may be maintained byan online transaction processing entity, which may provide processingfor online financial transactions and/or information transactionsbetween the user 102 and one or more of the merchant servers 140. Assuch, the service provider server 180 includes a service application182, which may be adapted to interact with each client device 120 and/oreach merchant server 140 over the network 160 to facilitate theselection, purchase, and/or payment of items, products, and/or servicesby the user 102 from one or more of the merchant servers 140. In oneexample, the service provider server 180 may be provided by PayPal, Inc.and/or eBay of San Jose, Calif., USA.

The service application 182, in one embodiment, utilizes a paymentprocessing module 184 to process purchases and/or payments for financialtransactions between the user 102 and each of the merchant servers 140.In one implementation, the payment processing module 184 assists withresolving financial transactions through validation, delivery, andsettlement. As such, the service application 182 in conjunction with thepayment processing module 184 settles indebtedness between the user 102and each of the merchants 140, wherein accounts may be directly and/orautomatically debited and/or credited of monetary funds in a manner asaccepted by the banking industry.

The service application 182, in one embodiment, utilizes a selectionprocessing module 186 to process and monitor user selection eventsduring online shopping by the user 102. In one aspect, the selectionprocessing module 184 allows the service provider 180 to process andmonitor user selections during online navigation and shopping eventsover the network 160. For example, the service provider 180 interfaceswith the client device 120 via, e.g., a browser window to monitor theuser 102 during navigation and shopping events on various merchantsites. The selection processing module 186 monitors user selection(e.g., drag-and-drop) of merchant icons representing items, products,and/or services to a selection window provided on a display of theclient device 120. The selection window may include one or more itemselection boxes adapted to receive one or more merchant icons whentransferred from the merchant site. Further scope and function relatedto the selection processing module 186 and the selection window isdescribed in greater detail herein.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure,online and network-based business entities (e.g., merchant sites,resource information sites, utility sites, real estate management sites,social networking sites, etc.) offer selection of items, products,and/or services for users to view, select, monitor, compare, and/orpurchase. The selection processing module 186 provides an effective wayto set aside selected items, products, and/or services for considerationduring an online shopping process. Advantageously, the selectionprocessing module 186 does not redirect the user 102 away from currentnavigation events and shopping paths to view the selected items,products and/or services on the list. In one implementation, theselection processing module 184 may be uploaded to the user interfaceapplication 122 for interfacing with a browser application that may beadapted to follow the user 102 during navigation and shopping events,and allow the user 102 to select and place items, products, and/orservices in the selection window for viewing during navigation andshopping events. In another aspect, the user 102 may hold the selecteditems, products, and/or services in the selection window and decide tocompare, monitor, and/or purchase the selected items, products, and/orservices in the selection window. In still another aspect, the user 102may move or transfer the selected items, products, and/or services fromthe selection window to a watch list for comparing, monitoring, and/orpurchasing.

The service provider server 180, in one embodiment, may be configured tomaintain one or more user accounts and merchant accounts in an accountdatabase 192, each of which may include account information 194associated with one or more individual users (e.g., user 102) andmerchants (e.g., one or more merchants associated with merchant servers140). For example, account information 194 may include private financialinformation of each user 102 and each merchant associated with the oneor more merchant servers 140, such as one or more account numbers,passwords, credit card information, banking information, or other typesof financial information, which may be used to facilitate onlinefinancial transactions between the user 102 and the one or moremerchants associated with the merchant servers 140. In various aspects,the methods and systems described herein may be modified to accommodateusers and/or merchants that may or may not be associated with at leastone existing user account and/or merchant account, respectively.

In one implementation, the user 102 may have identity attributes storedwith the service provider server 180, and the user 102 may havecredentials to authenticate or verify identity with the service providerserver 180. User attributes may include personal information and bankinginformation, as previously described. In various aspects, the userattributes may be passed to the service provider server 180 as part of alogin, selection, purchase, and/or payment request, and the userattributes may be utilized by the service provider server 180 toassociate the user 102 with one or more particular user accountsmaintained by the service provider server 180.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of selecting an item icon 230 a-230 f from amerchant item list 220 and moving (e.g., dragging and dropping) theselected item icon 230 a-230 f to a selection window 240 as displayed bythe client device 120. In one aspect, FIG. 2 shows an image of acomputer desktop 200 displaying a browser window 210 of a merchant sitewith the merchant item list 220 having one or more item icons 230 a-230f as part thereof FIG. 2 also shows an image of the selection window 240having one or more item selection boxes 250 a-250 c (e.g., as shown withor without an item icon and/or empty) adapted to receive at least oneitem icon 230 a-230 f when transferred from the merchant item list 220.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 2, a display component of theclient device 120 may be adapted to display, in an environment of thecomputer desktop 200, the merchant site in the browser window 210, theitem list 220 having the one or more of the item icons 230 a-230 f, andthe selection window 240 having the item selection boxes 250 a-250 c. Inone implementation, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the user 102 utilizesthe browser application 122 to open the browser window 210 and access amerchant server 140 via a merchant site to view the merchant item list220 having the one or more items (i.e., item icons 230 a-230 f) forviewing, selection, and/or purchase. When executed, the user interfaceapplication 122 is adapted to provide the selection window 240 on thedesktop environment 200 so that the user 102 may select and drag atleast one item icon 230 a-230 f to the selection window 240 for viewing,monitoring, comparing, and/or purchase and then drop the selected itemicon 230 a-230 f over the selection item boxes 250 a-250 c to hold forprocessing with the merchant server 140 and the service provider 180, ina manner as discussed herein. Once selected and placed in the selectionwindow, the user 102 may monitor the price of the selected items,compare the selected items, and/or request purchase of the selecteditems.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 2, a display component of theclient device 120 may be adapted to display, in the desktop environment200, a toolbar 260 in the browser window 210 with one or more userselectable operations including a show/hide operation 262, amove-to-watch-list operation 264, and a clear operation 266. Theshow/hide operation 262 allows the user 102 to hide or show (i.e.,minimize or maximize) the selection window 240 as desired, and whenhidden or minimized, the user 102 may drag-and-drop one or more itemicons 230 a-230 f onto the hidden or minimized selection window 240. Themove-to-watch-list operation 264 allows the user 102 to move or transferone or more items (i.e., item icons 230 a-230 f) to a watch list (notshown), which allows the user 102 monitor the items, e.g., for priceincreases, price decreases, item availability, etc. In one aspect, thewatch list may comprise another website or window having a watch list ofitems that the user 102 wants to store or save for further processing atanother time. The clear operation 266 allows the user 102 to clear oneor more item icons 230 a-230 f from the selection window 240 by, e.g.,removing the item icons from the selection window 240.

Referring to FIG. 2, one or more items, products, and/or services may bemoved or transferred from the merchant item list 220 to the selectionwindow 240, gathered in an array, and carried with the user 102 duringnavigation and shopping events. The selection window 240 allows the user102 to organize and display selected items, products, and/or services ina convenient and efficient manner. As shown in FIG. 2, one or more itemicons (e.g., item 2 icon 230 b may be selected, dragged, and droppedonto an item selection box (e.g., item selection box 250 a) for sortingand processing. In one implementation, the selection window 240 maycomprise a browser add-on or plug-in that follows the user 102 duringnavigation and shopping events. The selection window 240 may be utilizedfor storing, sifting, and/or sorting through selected items, products,and/or services. In one aspect, the selection window 240 may be referredto as a collection agent or array for selected items, products, and/orservices as collected by the user 102 during navigation and shoppingevents. In another aspect, there may be no indication (e.g., dashedlines) of item selection boxes 250 a, 250 b, 250 c in the selectionwindow 240 where the user 102 should drop a selected item. As such, inone implementation, the item selection windows 250 a, 250 b, 250 c maybe hidden from the user's view (i.e., not shown or indicated) in theselection window 240, and the user 102 may drop one or more selecteditems anywhere within the selection window 240 to place the one or moreselected items in the selection window 240.

In various implementations, the selection window 240 allows the user 102to drag-and-drop one or more merchant items during navigation andshopping events. The toolbar 260 allows the user 102 to show or hide theselection window, as desired. However, even when the selection window240 is hidden, the user 102 may move merchant items onto the selectionwindow 240. In one aspect, the selection window 240 allows the user 102to use left and right keyboard arrows of a user input device, such as akeyboard, to shift through item selection boxes 250 a, 250 b, 250 c. Theselection window 240 allows the user 102 to select a plurality ofmerchant items (e.g., 2 or more items) for comparison and purchaseconsideration. The selection window 240 allows the user 102 to highlightitem selection boxes for comparison of desired or wanted merchant itemsfor purchase consideration. The selection window 240 allows the user 102to decide which merchant items are wanted and then move the wanted itemsinto a watch list related to the user 102. The selection window 240 isadapted to be displayed anywhere inside and outside the browser window.The selection window 240 allows the user 102 to hold selected merchantitems for a predetermined time period (e.g., from minutes to days) oruntil the user 102 clears browser cookies. The selection window 240allows the user 102 to remove any of the selected merchant items at anytime.

FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of a method 300 for facilitating aclient-side selection event over the network 160 with the user interfaceapplication 122 in reference to the client device 120. In one aspect,the user interface application 122 allows the client device 120 tocommunicate with one or more of the merchant servers 140 via the network160 to select and monitor items, products, and/or services for purchaseconsideration and further communicate with the service provider 180 toprocess online financial transactions (e.g., purchase requests) foritems, products, and/or services selected for purchase.

In one implementation, upon user instruction, the user interfaceapplication 122 may be installed and/or run on the client device 120(block 314). The user 102 may run the user interface application 122 onthe client device 120 to access at least one merchant website via arelated merchant server 140 (block 318) to search the accessed merchantwebsite and view items, products, and/or services for purchaseconsideration (block 318).

In one aspect, upon installation or execution of the user interfaceapplication 122, the user 102 may be prompted to establish a useraccount for login with the service provider 180, wherein the user 102may use the user interface application 122 and the client device 120 toaccess the service provider 180 via the network 160. When establishing auser account, the user 102 may be asked to provide personal information,such as name, address, phone number, etc., and financial information,such as banking information, credit card information, etc. In anotheraspect, referring to FIG. 1, information related to the user 102 may bepackaged as the user identifier 130.

Next, to generate a selection group 304, the user 102 may select anitem, product, and/or service for purchase consideration (block 322) byselecting the item, product, and/or service (block 320), dragging the atleast one selected item, product, and/or service to the selection window240 (block 326), and dropping the at least one selected item, product,and/or service over an empty selection box 250 a, 250 b, 250 c in theselection window 240 (block 330). In one aspect, the user 102 may dragat least one selected item at a time to anywhere on the selection window240. In another aspect, the user 102 may select and drag multiple itemsand drop them into the selection window 240. In still another aspect,there may be no indication (e.g., dashed lines) of selection boxes 250a, 250 b, 250 c or areas in the selection window 240 where the user 102should drop an item. As such, the user 102 may drop a selected itemanywhere within the selection window 240.

In one implementation, the user selection includes user information,merchant information, and selected item information embedded asarguments in an expression, which are passed to the service provider180. The user information may include user identifier information, themerchant information may include the merchant identifier information,and the selected item information may include one or more imageattributes, including item identifier information, having dynamicarguments identifying the item and merchant providing the item forpurchase.

In one implementation, the user interface application 122 may transmitan item identifier along with the user identifier 130 and the merchantidentifier 148 to the service provider 180 for processing. Whenselecting an item for purchase consideration, the user 102 may utilize acursor control component (e.g., a mouse) to select and drag an item iconor image, representing a selected item for purchase consideration, fromthe merchant site to the selection window either on the desktop or inthe browser. Once the user 102 drops the selected item over theselection window, the selected item is stored and displayed in theselection window 240 for monitoring and/or comparison with otherselected items. In one aspect, it should be appreciated that useridentification may be provided as the user identifier 130 and passedwith the user selection to the service provider 180.

At this point, the user 102 may optionally move one or more itemsselected for purchase consideration form the selection window to a watchlist (block 334) for further monitoring and purchase consideration. Inone embodiment, the watch list comprises a stored list of selecteditems, products, and/or services for purchase consideration, wherein theuser 102 is able to access the watch list at any time to updateinformation, update selections, make purchases, and/or completetransactions.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that more than oneitem may be selected for purchase consideration. As such, the user 102may continue to shop, search, and view items, products, and/or servicefor purchase consideration (block 318). Therefore, a plurality of items,products, and/or service may be selected and placed in the selectionwindow 240 and then purchased in a single online purchase transaction.Alternately, each item selected for purchase may be purchased separatelywithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows one embodiment of a method 400 for facilitating server-sideprocessing of a user selection event over the network 160 via theselection processing module 186 of the service provider 180 interfacingwith the user interface application 122 of the client device 120. In oneaspect, the selection processing module 186 allows the service provider180 to communicate with the client device 120 and the one or more of themerchant servers 140 via the network 160 to monitor items, products,and/or services selected by the user 102 for purchase consideration. Theservice provider 180 is adapted to process online financial transactions(e.g., process purchase requests) on behalf of the user 102 and the oneor more merchants 140 in reference to items, products, and/or servicesselected for purchase.

In one implementation, the service provider 180 receives a login requestfrom the user 102 via the client device 120 (block 414), and then theservice provider 180 processes the user login request (block 141). Uponreceiving the user login request, the service provider 180 may determinewhether the user 102 is an existing user having an established useraccount 184 by, e.g., checking a user account list in a user accountdatabase. If the user 102 does not have an established user account,then the service provider 180 prompts the user 102 to establish a useraccount 184 by providing user information 186, and the service provider180 uploads the user interface application 122 to the client device 120so that the user 102 may install and run the user interface application122 on client device 120. Once the user interface application 122 isinstalled and run on the client device 120, the service provider 180begins to monitor user navigation and shopping events (block 418).Otherwise, if the user 102 is determined to be an existing user by theservice provider 180, then the service provider 180 verifies the useraccount and user identification information provider by user 102 in theuser login request. The service provider 180 may determine if the useraccount is current and active. In some instances, user accountinformation may need to be updated, and thus, the service provider 180may prompt the user 102 to update user account information 186 in theuser account 184 for the user 102. However, if the user account 184 iscurrent and active, then the service provider 180 begins to monitor usernavigation and shopping events (block 418). It should be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that the service provider 180 may cancel theuser login request at any time during the process of method 400 if,e.g., it is determined by the service provider 180 that the user 102enters wrong information or the user 102 is trying to purchase an itemwith criminal intent.

Next, the service provider 180 is adapted to monitor user navigation andshopping events (block 418) via communication between the selectionprocessing module 186 of the service provider 180 and the user interfaceapplication 122 of the client device 120. Based on user selectioninformation received from the client device 120, the service provider isadapted to generate a user selection group (block 422). In one aspect,the user selection group comprises one or more selected merchant itemsfor purchase consideration as provided in the selection window 240 bythe user 102.

Next, the service provider 180 is adapted to track user selections(block 426) by monitoring the selection group and the selection window240 as provided by the user 102.

Next, the service provider 180 is adapted to update the user selectionsin the section window, display the user selections in the selectionwindow, and/or store the user selections for processing (block 430). Forexample, the service provider 180 may update the selection window basedon user requested change to the selection group. The user selections maybe constantly updated, when, e.g., the user 102 makes changes (e.g.,additions, deletions, movements, etc.) to the selection group via theselection window 240. In another example, the service provider 180 isadapted to display updated selection group information to the user 102via the selection window 240. In still another example, the serviceprovider 180 may store, either temporarily or permanently, the user itemselections and/or any changes to the user item selections for referenceand other additional processing.

Next, the service provider 180 determines whether the user 102 requestsmovement of one or more selected items from the selection window 240 toa watch list related to the user 102 (block 434). If no, then theservice provider server 180 continues to monitor the user navigation andshopping events (block 418). Otherwise, if yes, then the serviceprovider 180 generates or updates a previously generated a watch listfor the user 102) (block 438). In one aspect, the service provider 180links the generated watch list, and item selection information relatedthereto, to a user account in the account database 192 related to theuser 102. This allows the service provider 180 to monitor and update theuser's watch list for the user 102, as instructed and/or requested bythe user 102. Next, after generating or updating the user's watch list,the service provider server 180 continues to monitor user navigation andshopping events (block 418).

Optionally, the service provider 180 may process a purchase request andany related purchase information provided by the user 102. The purchaserequest and/or the purchase information may include information relatedto the items selected for purchase consideration in the selection group,information related to the merchant providing the selected items forpurchase consideration, information related to the user including useraccount number, balance information, credit card information, etc. Inone aspect, the service provider 180 may optionally access the merchantsite via the merchant server 140 to verify purchase informationincluding verifying that the selected item is available (e.g., instock), verifying the pricing information, verifying that the merchantaccount is up-to-date, etc.. The service provider 180 may prompt theuser 102 via, e.g., a pop-up window, to verify a purchase request. Forexample, the service provider 180 may ask the user 102 to complete thepurchase transaction by selecting a designated box to complete thepurchase transaction. In this way, the service provider 180 is adaptedto allow the user 102 to request processing and/or cancellation of anyonline financial transactions prior to completion.

Optionally, based on user request, the service provider 180 may completeany online financial transactions by deducting the amount of thepurchase request from the user account and crediting the amount of thepurchase request to a related merchant account. In one aspect,completing a purchase request may include redirecting the user 102 to apage on the merchant site that confirms their purchase of the selectedproduct to provide, e.g., a receipt to the user 102. In one embodiment,the selection window may include a payment mechanism that allows theuser 102 to take different actions, such as making purchase requests andproviding buttons to complete the purchase at a later time.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computer system 500 suitable forimplementing one or more embodiments of the present disclosure,including the client device 120, the one or more merchant devices 140,and the service provider device 180. In various implementations, theclient device 140 may comprise a personal computing device capable ofcommunicating with the network 160, such as a personal computer, laptop,cell phone, PDA, etc., the one or more merchant devices 140 may comprisea network computing device, such as a network server, and the serviceprovider device 180 may comprise a network computing device, such as anetwork server. Hence, it should be appreciated that each of the devices120, 140, 180 may be implemented as computer system 500 in a manner asfollows.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure,computer system 500, such as a personal computer and/or a networkserver, includes a bus 502 or other communication mechanism forcommunicating information, which interconnects subsystems andcomponents, such as processing component 504 (e.g., processor,micro-controller, digital signal processor (DSP), etc.), system memorycomponent 506 (e.g., RAM), static storage component 508 (e.g., ROM),disk drive component 510 (e.g., magnetic or optical), network interfacecomponent 512 (e.g., modem or Ethernet card), display component 514(e.g., CRT or LCD), input component 516 (e.g., keyboard), and cursorcontrol component 518 (e.g., mouse or trackball). In one implementation,disk drive component 510 may comprise a database having one or more diskdrive components.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, computersystem 500 performs specific operations by processor 504 executing oneor more sequences of one or more instructions contained in system memorycomponent 506. Such instructions may be read into system memorycomponent 506 from another computer readable medium, such as staticstorage component 508 or disk drive component 510. In other embodiments,hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware instructions to implement the present disclosure.

Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer toany medium that participates in providing instructions to processor 504for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but notlimited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.In various implementations, non-volatile media includes optical ormagnetic disks, such as disk drive component 510, volatile mediaincludes dynamic memory, such as system memory component 506, andtransmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiberoptics, including wires that comprise bus 502. In one example,transmission media may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such asthose generated during radio wave and infrared data communications.

Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for example,floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magneticmedium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM,FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave, or anyother medium from which a computer is adapted to read.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, execution ofinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure may beperformed by computer system 500. In various other embodiments of thepresent disclosure, a plurality of computer systems 500 coupled bycommunication link 520 (e.g., network 160 of FIG. 1, such as a LAN,WLAN, PTSN, and/or various other wired or wireless networks, includingtelecommunications, mobile, and cellular phone networks) may performinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure in coordinationwith one another.

Computer system 500 may transmit and receive messages, data, informationand instructions, including one or more programs (i.e., applicationcode) through communication link 520 and communication interface 512.Received program code may be executed by processor 504 as receivedand/or stored in disk drive component 510 or some other non-volatilestorage component for execution.

Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosuremay be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardwareand software. Also, where applicable, the various hardware componentsand/or software components set forth herein may be combined intocomposite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present disclosure. Where applicable,the various hardware components and/or software components set forthherein may be separated into sub-components comprising software,hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated thatsoftware components may be implemented as hardware components andvice-versa. Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such asprogram code and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readablemediums. It is also contemplated that software identified herein may beimplemented using one or more general purpose or specific purposecomputers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Whereapplicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may bechanged, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-stepsto provide features described herein.

The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosureto the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. As such, itis contemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modificationsto the present disclosure, whether explicitly described or impliedherein, are possible in light of the disclosure. Having thus describedembodiments of the present disclosure, persons of ordinary skill in theart will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the presentdisclosure is limited only by the claims.

1. A system for facilitating transactions over a network, the systemcomprising: a non-transitory memory; one or more hardware processorscoupled to the non-transitory memory and configured to read instructionsfrom the non-transitory memory to cause the system to perform operationscomprising: monitoring user navigation events over the network betweendifferent merchant websites, wherein the user navigation eventscomprises website navigation between the different merchant websites anduser selections of items for purchase from each of the differentmerchant websites in a browser application; generating a user selectiongroup based on the user selections of items from a plurality of merchantwebsites of the different merchant websites, wherein the user selectiongroup comprises the user selections moved to a user interfaceapplication via drag-and-drop of an icon from a merchant website of thedifferent merchant websites; displaying the user selections from thedifferent merchant websites accessed in the browser application to theuser via an interface of a user interface application separate from thebrowser application, wherein the user interface application comprises ahide function for the user interface application to hide the userinterface application; and processing a purchase of the items from thedifferent merchant websites through the user interface application in asingle online purchase transaction without the user navigating to theeach of the different merchant websites.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the operations further comprise: storing a user accountassociated with the user, wherein the user account includes userpersonal information and user financial information for the user,wherein the purchase of the items is processed using the user account.3. The system of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise:receiving a user login request from the user for the user account; andverifying an identity of the user using the user login request;determining the user account for the user; and processing the user loginrequest for the user account based on the verifying the identity of theuser.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:updating the interface of the user interface application based onadditional user selections from the each of the different merchantwebsites in the browser application; and storing the user selections andthe additional user selections in the interface of the user interfaceapplication.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the user navigationevents comprise user shopping actions with the each of the differentmerchant websites, and wherein the user shopping actions comprisesearching for the items to purchase from the different merchantwebsites.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the icon represents at leastone of an item, product, and service displayed by the merchant websitefor purchase by the user.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the userinterface application allow the user to access the different merchantwebsites and review the items for purchase by the user, and wherein theuser interface application further displays the icon from the merchantwebsite.
 8. A method comprising: monitoring user navigation events overthe network between different merchant websites, wherein the usernavigation events comprises website navigation between the differentmerchant websites and user selections of items for purchase from each ofthe different merchant websites in a browser application; generating auser selection group based on the user selections of items from aplurality of merchant websites of the different merchant websites,wherein the user selection group comprises the user selections moved toa user interface application via drag-and-drop of an icon from amerchant website of the different merchant websites; displaying the userselections from the different merchant websites accessed in the browserapplication to the user via an interface of a user interface applicationseparate from the browser application, wherein the user interfaceapplication comprises a hide function for the user interface applicationto hide the user interface application; and processing a purchase of theitems from the different merchant websites through the user interfaceapplication in a single online purchase transaction without the usernavigating to the each of the different merchant websites.
 9. The methodof claim 8, further comprising: storing a user account associated withthe user, wherein the user account includes user personal informationand user financial information for the user, wherein the purchase of theitems is processed using the user account.
 10. The method of claim 9,further comprising: receiving a user login request from the user for theuser account; and verifying an identity of the user using the user loginrequest; determining the user account for the user; and processing theuser login request for the user account based on the verifying theidentity of the user.
 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:updating the interface of the user interface application based onadditional user selections from the each of the different merchantwebsites in the browser application; and storing the user selections andthe additional user selections in the interface of the user interfaceapplication.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the user navigationevents comprise user shopping actions with the each of the differentmerchant websites, and wherein the user shopping actions comprisesearching for the items to purchase from the different merchantwebsites.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the icon represents atleast one of an item, product, and service displayed by the merchantwebsite for purchase by the user.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein theuser interface application allow the user to access the differentmerchant websites and review the items for purchase by the user, andwherein the user interface application further displays the icon fromthe merchant website.
 15. A non-transitory machine-readable mediumhaving stored thereon machine-readable instructions executable to causea machine to perform operations comprising: monitoring user navigationevents over the network between different merchant websites, wherein theuser navigation events comprises website navigation between thedifferent merchant websites and user selections of items for purchasefrom each of the different merchant websites in a browser application;generating a user selection group based on the user selections of itemsfrom a plurality of merchant websites of the different merchantwebsites, wherein the user selection group comprises the user selectionsmoved to a user interface application via drag-and-drop of an icon froma merchant website of the different merchant websites; displaying theuser selections from the different merchant websites accessed in thebrowser application to the user via an interface of a user interfaceapplication separate from the browser application, wherein the userinterface application comprises a hide function for the user interfaceapplication to hide the user interface application; and processing apurchase of the items from the different merchant websites through theuser interface application in a single online purchase transactionwithout the user navigating to the each of the different merchantwebsites.
 16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15,further comprising: storing a user account associated with the user,wherein the user account includes user personal information and userfinancial information for the user, wherein the purchase of the items isprocessed using the user account.
 17. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising: receiving auser login request from the user for the user account; and verifying anidentity of the user using the user login request; determining the useraccount for the user; and processing the user login request for the useraccount based on the verifying the identity of the user.
 18. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, further comprising:updating the interface of the user interface application based onadditional user selections from the each of the different merchantwebsites in the browser application; and storing the user selections andthe additional user selections in the interface of the user interfaceapplication.
 19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the user navigation events comprise user shopping actions withthe each of the different merchant websites, and wherein the usershopping actions comprise searching for the items to purchase from thedifferent merchant websites.
 20. The non-transitory machine-readablemedium of claim 15, wherein the user interface application allow theuser to access the different merchant websites and review the items forpurchase by the user, and wherein the user interface application furtherdisplays the icon from the merchant website.